B) Hoods are exactly the same dimensionally - only cosmetic differences

Is the primary latch in the open position when you try and close the hood?

I always try to think things through too much so you could tell me if this is in the open position. The piece that has the red circle around it I can push down with a screwdriver and then release it from inside the cab.

I have tried to adjust The primary bolt latch both all the way up and all the way down and it doesn’t seem to make a difference Other than raising the hood up above the fenders. It’s like it can’t catch.

Hi,
Your photo shows the latch in the open position. Are the hoops on the two hoods different? Like the original hood has a narrow diameter hoop, and the mail slot hood has a thick hoop? Just a thought..... since you should be making contact with the protruding tong to get the catch to pivot closed, there has to be SOME reason the catch is not rotating closed. It appears that the top of the "C" of the catch is shiny(like it has been rubbing on something...)... Is the hoop on the hood bent? That would cause interference issues too....
Do our hoods have a removable hoop on the hood(I am being too lazy to go out in the dark/rain to look)? I feel like have to be close to having that AH-HA moment to finding this issue.

Hi,
Your photo shows the latch in the open position. Are the hoops on the two hoods different? Like the original hood has a narrow diameter hoop, and the mail slot hood has a thick hoop? Just a thought..... since you should be making contact with the protruding tong to get the catch to pivot closed, there has to be SOME reason the catch is not rotating closed. It appears that the top of the "C" of the catch is shiny(like it has been rubbing on something...)... Is the hoop on the hood bent? That would cause interference issues too....
Do our hoods have a removable hoop on the hood(I am being too lazy to go out in the dark/rain to look)? I feel like have to be close to having that AH-HA moment to finding this issue.

I will check tomorrow if the hoops are the same, I believe they are. The hoops are welded on. I will also check to see if it has a bend in it.
I put a dap of white out on the hoop earlier today and couldn’t see where it made contact on the latch.
I need an AH-HA moment

Still having problems with the primary latch. I noticed this and wonder what you all think. This is the bottom bolt that holds the hood catch. You can see it looks like it’s eaten up or is that the way it is ? Would that have anything to do with the latch not catching?

Still having problems with the primary latch. I noticed this and wonder what you all think. This is the bottom bolt that holds the hood catch. You can see it looks like it’s eaten up or is that the way it is ? Would that have anything to do with the latch not catching?

It looks like the metal the bolt goes into is messed up.

If that bolt locates the latch mechanism, it certainly could affect how the latch fits.

Anybody got a good picture of how the latch mechanism on a 95 D21 looks. I have pictures of the 3 bolts. The bolt at the bottom looks messed up.
The hood I have on before this one had no trouble latching.